nanadebbie57

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Can't believe 6 months has flown by already! I've reached 40 lbs, which is halfway to my goal of 80! I feel really good and it was so much fun to buy smaller clothes and especially a smaller bathing suit this summer! Sadly, I had to give away some of my favorite clothes from the past few years because they were just falling off of me! I'll miss them but I don't miss the weight! My energy level is so much better now, and I don't get out of breath very easily anymore, which is great. The best thing was going to see my PCP and finding that my blood pressure is better than in years, and I'm off two out of 3 of the meds (the third I don't even need for my BP -it's more for palpitations, which I had for the past 20 years, even before I had high BP.) I still feel that having the VSG was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I couldn't be happier!

In the past 3 years, my husband of 32 years moved out, I bought a condo on my own and invited my sister to move in with me, I went through a divorce, I lost my job and started a new one (which turned out to be for the best -it's so much better!), I had VSG two weeks after I found out my job was being terminated due to budget cuts, and then I had my first granddaughter 10 days after surgery (which I was present for -all 18 hours of labor!) My life has been such a tornado of emotions and stress and changes -but now life is better than ever! I love my new job -I love my new condo and living with my sister -and I REALLY LOVE being a Nana and being with my adorable 6-month-old granddaughter!! Life is good, and my surgery and weight loss is a big part of being happier and loving myself and my new life. I am so much happier now than I ever thought I could be when my husband first announced he was leaving and didn't want to be married anymore. In fact, I am friends with him and his new girlfriend of 2 1/2 years -we were all at the baby's christening together and lunch together. I am so glad I have been able to let a lot of the anger go and get past all the hurt and be friends. I would rather keep the deep friendship we've had for 35 years than be a bitter, angry person who speaks badly of her ex and calls her attorney for every little thing!

Thank you, ObesityHelp.com and all the members for all of your wonderful support in helping me change my life and my body (and mind) for the better! It's been so wonderful to have all these very supportive "friends" out there in the cyberworld who are on my side and wanting the best for me! And it's been great to be able to give back too, to feel that my experiences can help other people reach their goal and feel better to about changing their lives and selves for the best!

So it's almost 5 months now -time has flown! I feel wonderful -I'm almost halfway to goal! The wt. loss has slowed, of course, which I figured it would, but I'm still steadily losing. I seem to hit plateaus, where I stay the same for 1-2 weeks, then all of a sudden I'll lose 2 lbs overnight! But as long as it keeps going down, that's the right direction! I feel so much better now -less discomfort in my joints and going uphill and upstairs so much more easily! I love pulling out clothes I haven't worn in a long time and now they fit again or fit much better! And I've sent several bags to Savers because they are just too big and are almost falling off!

I feel really good, but it's amazing that I can lose 37 lbs and so many people don't notice anything yet (or at least don't say anything to me....) I'm still overweight, so it's frustrating that I feel so good and proud of myself, but so many people don't know how far I've come! I started a new job June 5, and no one there knows that I've lost all this weight. I feel like they just see me as an overweight woman and don't realize how much better I look and feel than I did 5 months ago! But since I'm still slowly losing, I guess over time they'll notice! My family and friends do, anyway. (I love the compliments!)

And I absolutely love being a Nana! Those of you who have grandchildren understand, I know. What a miraculous, joyful experience in life! My granddaughter Naomi is 4 1/2 months old and just so cute! She got her first two teeth already, on July 4th! What a surprise! She looks so much like my son as a baby -what deja vu! It's like going back 30 years and looking at my son -wearing a little dress! I am so happy I'm healthier and enjoying life more, and can get down on the floor with her to make her laugh and make faces with her! I certainly have no regrets about having VSG at this time in my life -it was just what I needed to help me be the best person I can be at this time! I can eat pretty much anything now -just 1/4-1/3 of what I used to eat! I usually share with someone if I'm out, or bring it home for leftovers. Sometimes my doggie bag is 3 or 4 more meals! I mostly use a dessert plate or small plate for my dinner now. I've learned the hard way not to eat too fast or too much -no vomiting, luckliy, but just such an uncomfortable feeling until everything goes down! (Like swallowing a huge pill that's stuck in your throat -but drinking water does not help -it makes it worse!) One mistake I made a month or two ago was getting a children's Happy Meal at McDonald's -what was I thinking?! Even the 4 nuggets and small fries were way too much -that meal almost came back up! I won't try that again!! I have certainly learned my limits -and it feels good to have limits!

So now it's been 13 days and I've lost 14 lbs! Yay! I've never lost weight this fast except after having my kids! My sister says I look like a balloon slowly deflating! I feel so much better -I feel almost normal now! I'm getting kind of bored and restless at home, so I'm glad that I'm going back to work next week. (PT for 2 weeks, then FT.) But one thing that's kept me busy is that my granddaughter was born March 17! (My first grandchild!) My son and daughter-in-law wanted me to be there, because I work in OB-GYN, so I was very excited and honored to be a part of the whole thing. I packed a little rolling suitcase full of magazines, water bottles, protein shake packets, herbal tea bags, chicken broth (in individual size packets) and my shaker bottle. I was able to get hot water, cold water, and milk from the little kitchen on the labor and delivery floor, and my son ordered some plain yogurt and plain soy milk for me also. So I made it through 18 hours of labor and surprised myself that I stayed up all night and felt fine! My son told me I could lay down or go back to their house to nap, but the adrenaline kept me going, and at 11:00 pm, when I would normally be going to bed, was just when things started happening, so I couldn't leave then! The hardest part was when she was pushing for 2 1/2 hours -my son had one leg and I had the other, "helping" her to push the baby out -my back and feet were killing me! (Happily I brought my liquid Tylenol, although it just doesn't work like Advil used to!) At least my belly didn't hurt at all! But the pain was forgotten as soon as my beautiful little granddaughter came into the world! (make that big - 8 lbs, 7 1/2 oz., 21" long!)  I was so busy snapping pictures and wiping my eyes and hugging and kissing my son and daughter-in-law, and then the nurse put baby Naomi Cecilia into my arms, while my poor daughter-in-law was getting stitched up! So I got to bond with her for almost an hour before my son left his wife's side and wanted the baby back! She was finally born at 3:14 am, but I couldn't tear myself away until 5:30! I drove home and slept the sleep of the dead for about 4 hours, until the phone calls and texts started coming in from the family -then I was too excited to sleep any longer! Now that I'm a Nana and have this adorable little girl in my life, it reaffirms why I did this surgery -so that I can be healthier, live longer, have more energy to play with her and the other grandchildren I hope to have someday, and not have my knees and back hurt so much! I really feel great, and my only complaint this week is that I'm really getting tired of liqiuids and shakes/soups, etc. I want real food! I really miss chewing and crunching -I can't wait to see my Nut. on 3/22 so hopefully she will see how good I'm being and allow me to go to the next stage of eating! Can't wait!

So it's been 6 days since my sleeve gastrectomy, and I'm feeling really good. I drove myself this morning to a dermatology appointment -I felt pretty normal! My surgeon told me I could drive when I felt ready and when I was off narcotics. I've found that Tylenol seems to working fine in the last 2 days -it seems my discomfort level has rapidly improved since then. I think a lot of it was how distended, bloated, and puffy I was after surgery -I felt 9 months pregnant AND as though I'd just had Thanksgiving dinner! They warned me I could GAIN 10-20 lbs in the hospital after surgery, due to the bloating, fluid retention, and gas, and I ONLY gained 7, but I still felt so puffy and uncomfortable! Even my face was puffy, around my eyes and chin! And I couldn't put my rings back on until today. But now the 7 is gone, plus two more, so I feel more like myself. I'm actually getting kind of bored being at home -I'm finding myself looking forward to going back to work! I'm also bored with the liquid diet already -I'm trying to add a lot of variety to the shakes, yogurt, soups, etc., but I find that I really miss crunching and chewing! Well, if all goes well, then in 10 days I can start Stage 4 and have some meats, cheeses, and fruit, and even Saltines! Yay!